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International Bowling Industry Magazine- March 2010
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4
6THE ISSUE AT HAND
CapstoneBy Scott Frager
8SHORTS
Bill Scheid retires...At Bowling Summit,
museum money;manufacturer is new
NAIR prexy; andpeoplewatching.
12CENTER STAGE
A $20-million lovesong to New York City.
And an exclusivefor IBI.
14MY FRAMESarah who?
Is the industry reallyso lucky to get
Sarah Palin for Expo?By Paul Lane
16COVER STORY
Range riderJamie Brooks has
owned more than 40centers in his career. What
are the chances he is aboutto settle down at last?
By Fred Groh 28
CONTENTS
22PROFILEThe rock in the roadThe life of rock musiclegend Wanda Jacksonhas had more than itsshare of breakthroughsand bowling.By Gregory Keer
INTERNATIONALBOWLING CAMPUS
28History is made!IBC officially opens. Asouvenir portfolio of thecrowds, the headquarters,the museum, the first balls,and a moment in historyfor the bowling industry.
32History’s builderHank Harris, the man whoput the bricks together.
46REMEMBER WHEN1943Lowell Jackson was one ofthe most remarkable starsthe game has ever seen.
36 Showcase
38 Datebook
39 Classifieds
VOL 18.3THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING
IBI March 2010
16
22
PUBLISHER & EDITORScott Frager
[email protected]: scottfrager
MANAGING EDITORFred Groh
OFFICE MANAGERPatty Heath
CONTRIBUTORSGregory Keer
Paul Lane
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTVictoria Tahmizian
ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTIONDesignworks
www.dzynwrx.com(818) 735-9424
FOUNDERAllen Crown (1933-2002)
13245 Riverside Dr., Suite 501Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 789-2695(BOWL)Fax (818) 789-2812
www.BowlingIndustry.com
HOTLINE: 888-424-2695
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy ofInternational Bowling Industry is sent free toevery bowling center, independently ownedpro shop and collegiate bowling center inthe U.S., and every military bowling centerand pro shop worldwide. Publisher reservesthe right to provide free subscriptions tothose individuals who meet publicationqualifications. Additional subscriptions maybe purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50per year. Subscriptions for Canada andMexico are $65 per year, all other foreignsubscriptions are $80 per year. All foreignsubscriptions should be paid in U.S. fundsusing International Money Orders.POSTMASTER: Please send new as well asold address to International Bowling Industry,13245 Riverside Drive, Suite 501, ShermanOaks, CA 91423 USA. If possible, pleasefurnish address mailing label.Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2010, B2B Media,Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprintedwithout the publisher’s permission.
MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:
Two years ago this month, we putaside half the editorial we had ready togo for our March 2008 issue becauseof something extraordinary that hadhappened at Bowling Summit. Wecreated a special section on it and weput it on our cover.
The big event was USBC’s decision,announced at Summit, to move southand join BPAA in Arlington. The“integration” of the two associationsthat had been a catchword around theindustry for a decade was going tohappen, after all.
We followed the adventure closely,reporting on events, issues and peopleas things progressed until the 25thday of January this year.
On that day, a story ended that wastwo years in the telling and a new storybegan, when the International BowlingCampus–the combined BPAA-USBCheadquarters–officially opened inArlington.
I wouldn’t have missed it, and Iwasn’t disappointed. The crowd, theexcitement, the sense of festivity on thatcool, sunny day fit the occasionperfectly. The offices, the Training andResearch Center, the InternationalMuseum and Hall of Fame (and eventhe museum’s gift shop), all takentogether are a stunner, as our portfoliobeginning on page 28 shows. The nexttime you are in the Dallas area, besure you drop by.
I will confess that when I first heardabout the Arlington move, I was morethan a little skeptical. I wasn’tconvinced that the benefits ofcollaboration would outweigh the dollarcost of the move and the toll it wouldtake on people then working at USBC.
I still maintain some reservationswhether it is a good idea for the
governing body of the sport and the owners of the playing fields tobe so intimate with each other. It’s not the physical distance thatis my concern. It’s the ability to preserve and maintain a healthysystem of checks and balances. Collaboration is great. Integrationcan get sticky.
Given some of USBC’s recentdecisions, such as questionablechanges it’s made in its awardprogram, and with the Greendalebuilding still unsold (reportedlyits value has declined to abouta third of what it was at theonset of the recession), thereare some major financialobstacles headed our way.
BPAA and USBC are not theonly groups with some seriouslong-term strategy issues, either. Once again, the viability of the PBAhas been cast in doubt.
On the brighter side, we should all feel comforted that the newcommanders at BPAA and USBC are eminently talented, smart andqualified.
Like you, when I peer toward the future that liesover the horizon, I wonder what the landscapewill look like. One thing is clear, however. You canbet your bottom dollar that it will look nothing likeit did in the past.
Good or bad? You decide.
– SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHERAND [email protected]
Capstone
6 IBI March 2010
THE ISSUE AT HAND
�THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com
Read FredKaplowitz’s ongoingblog on marketingyour business.
8 IBI March 2010
Bill Scheid, president andCEO of Ebonite International,has announced his retirementeffective April 1.
He will be succeeded byRandy Schickert, who filledexecutive positions at RegalWare Worldwide, a maker ofstainless steel cookware; HuffySports, manufacturer ofbasketball systems and othersporting goods; and DESAIndoor/Outdoor products, aconsumer heating productscompany.
Ebonite board chairman Steven Tuttlemansaid the company looked for Scheid’sreplacement among candidates withexperience in product development,manufacturing, marketing, and both domesticand international sales.
Scheid said he is “impressed” with Schickert,who Scheid thinks will bring “a great cross-pollination with him, coming from the outsidewith his own set of technical skills.”
At press time, the new man was expected toreport for duty on Feb. 22. Schikert will initiallybe meeting with customers to learn about thecompany and its products from them.
Scheid said he was retiring because heturns 65 this year, “and I thought it was time.”
He had no definite plans for retirement activity when we talkedbriefly with him about his career as this issue went to press.
Scheid got into bowling in 1989 because he answered an ad.Then manager of assembly plant operations and warehouse anddistribution for a sprinkler manufacturer, he started with Eboniteas vice president and general manager, as the ad had promised.He became president when the sitting president retired a few yearslater, and CEO soon after that.
Scheid said he ranks the development of Ebonite’s StrikingEffects program one of the two most satisfying accomplishmentsin his career with the company. Together with Bill Supper, then vicepresident for sales, he spent more than a year researchingmerchandizing techniques; the two men even attended a segmentof the Professional Golfers’ Association pro shop school. Ebonitehired a consultant firm to help develop the program, then taughtthe techniques to Ebonite salesmen who provided hands-onassistance to help pro shops set them up.
“The program we developed has changed over time,” saidScheid, but “I think we brought a new perspective tomerchandising and pro shop appearance. The legacy remains thatwhat Ebonite International designed then is pretty much thestandard for the way better-merchandised pro shops look today.”
Scheid’s other point of special satisfaction is company systemshe describes as “fairly sophisticated and [that] match up wellwith the better manufacturers.” They include Ebonite’s ERPprograms for intra-company flow of information, its warehousingand distribution setup, and its quality-control programs.
Asked what he would take away from Ebonite, Scheid said, “Alot of good friends.”
No further personnel changes at the company are planned inconnection with his retirement, Scheid said.
The opening of theInternational Bowling Campusstole the show, but somenotable names in new roleswere revealed at BowlingSummit, Jan. 23-27 at theCampus in Arlington, TX.
� Dissatisfied with theperformance of outside salesagents to date, Strike TenEntertainment is returning toits role in sponsorship salesand activation, announcedFrank DeSocio. Meanwhile,STE awaits a new missionconcept from BPAA.
In the Town Hall Forum,former BPAA president Wally
Hall asked BPAA treasurer Tom Martino ifhe thought STE, having lost $500,000 inthe past two years, would be able toremain self-supporting. Martino answeredin the affirmative.
� E.D. Steve Johnson’s report to themembership five months into the jobreiterated his drive to produce quality, notnecessarily quantity, in programs formembers. A new strategic plan is in thespirit of “Control our own destiny andlead the industry,” said Johnson.
He added that integration with USBC is“not a focus of mine at this time. Executingon our newly developed strategic plan willin fact over time force integration. USBCis not, at this date in my opinion, ready to
Ebonite’s Scheid to Retire; New CEO Named
SHORTS
Dan Labrecque
Johnny PetragliaContinued on page 10
10 IBI March 2010
begin integration with BPAA. USBC needs to focuson USBC.”
� Annual awards to be presented at Bowl Expowere announced. They include Special Projects Awardto Dan Labrecque for his job fair program (profiled inDecember 2009 IBI ); Dick Weber Bowling AmbassadorAward to Johnny Petraglia, honoring the way he hasrepresented the sport; Ruben Dankoff Award to BobStubler for spearheading Illinois’ recently passedlegislation against slip-and-fall suits; V.A. WapenskyAward to former USBC CEO Roger Dalkin for hisservice to the industry, in particular his role in creatingUSBC; President’s Medal to Tom Martino for hisexceptional support of and contributions to BPAA; andbowling’s highest honor, the Victor Learner Medal,along with induction in the BPAA Hall of Fame, to TedHoffman (our cover story in June 2009).
SHORTSContinued from page 8
Roger Dalkin
Ted Hoffman
Bob Stubler
Tom Martino
PASDIORA IS FIRSTMANUFACTURERTO HEAD NAIR
At Bowling Summit, NAIR’s Scott Freemanpresents a $5,850 check for the InternationalBowling Museum and Hall of Fame to KeithHamilton, the museum’s vice president/vicechair. Also taking part were Pat Ciniello,president/chairman of the museum (next toFreeman), and Gregg Pasdiora of NAIR. TheNAIR organization contributed $2,000 of thedonation; NAIR members supplied the rest.Freeman turned over the NAIR presidency to
Pasdiora at the organization’s annual meeting the next day. Presentation was made in the museum’s Reichert Learning Center
during the IBC grand opening, in front of a mural of the National BowlingStadium. Reichert was a leading supporter of the stadium
At opening ceremonies for the museum,proprietors Lee Zavakos and Bill Kuczinski presentPat Ciniello with a check for $10,000. The moneywas donated by Bowling Business BuildersInternational, which runs the Kids Bowl Freefrequency program. Zavakos and Kuczinski areprincipals. Local musicians, behind them,entertained at the museum opening.
Brunswick’s Bart Bergerbeginning an announcementthat brought cheers from thecrowd: Brunswick doubled itscontribution to a total of$100,000.
Gregg Pasdiora, vice president of NorthAmerica sales for US Steltronic, became thefirst manufacturer elected to the presidency ofNAIR. It happened at the organization’s annualmeeting, co-located with Bowling Summit.
Pasdiora pledged to the NAIR board an“active” presidency during his two-year term,focused on casting a very wide net acrossthe industry for independent bowlingspecialists and helping to offer their productsand services to proprietors.
The new board includes, in photo fromleft, Ed Jandreau, secretary; Pasdiora; CliffAdair, Ken Suprenant, and Barbara Peltz,directors; Nancy Suprenant, executivesecretary; Steve Caffrey, director; MarkNeumann, vice president/treasurer; and ScottFreeman, past president.
MUSEUM MONEY
CENTER STAGE
12 IBI March 2010
$20 million, give or take. That’s the budget for the most ambitious
project yet by the man who first put bowlingamong the high-end leisure pursuits. And thereisn’t a laser tag gun in sight.
Tom Shannon’s Bowlmor Times Square willbe a love song to his flagship city, with 50 lanesparceled out among seven theme areas and90,000 square feet. Patrons will bowl and dinein Central Park (concept rendering 1, to theright), Times Square in the ’60s (2), Chinatown(3), artists’ lofts, the subway, Gilded Age NewYork, and the psychedelic world of Andy Warhol.
The project is unprecedented. So is the exclusive access to it IBI will
have all the way through.In a first for IBI and for the industry, we
will be reporting in these pages as thisone-of-a-kind bowling emporium movestoward completion. On our website, we’llbe posting more concept renderings asthey are developed and slides documentingthe progress of construction. Then we’ll bejoining the evening-formal grand openingcelebration, expected in October.
The building of Tom Shannon’s latest venueis just beginning. Check us often for its status,because Bowlmor Times Square is going to beone eye-popping stage for bowling. Ouraddress: www.BowlingIndustry.com. ❖
STAGECENTER
Just a hint. Among the six properties in Tom Shannon’sportfolio are Strike Cupertino (Cupertino, CA), top, and
Strike Bethesda (Bethesda, MD), middle. Bottom, “Carnivalpresented by Bowlmor” is a fun space for the family by day,
a nightclub after dark with a carnival theme; it sits onefloor up from Bowlmor Lanes in Greenwich Village, the
first of Shannon’s trendsetting locations.
3
2
13IBI March 2010
1CENTER STAGE
14 IBI March 2010
he announcement that the BPAA had secured SarahPalin as the keynote speaker for Bowl Expo was metwith a mixture of positive and negative reactions bythe industry at large, which perhaps was not surprising.
The agency managing Ms. Palin said bowling waslucky, and she would be able to appear. But I wonder.
Apart from the obviously high (exorbitant) fees speakers likeSarah Palin command, having speakers from the world of politics istreading on eggshells, to say the least. The potential is alwayspresent to offend the segment of the audience who do not subscribeto the particular speaker’s political stance or party.
The same could be said about last year’s choice of Fred
Thompson–although probably most of the audienceassociated him more with his acting background suchas his role on TV’s Law and Order than with his short-lived run for the presidency in 2008. His messageabout how he got into and out of politics wasgripping–if you aspire to get into or out of politics.
In recent years we have also seen such high-profileentertainers as Bill Cosby and Jay Leno on the agenda.Entertainers of this caliber command high, and evenhigher, fees than politicians currently in the limelight,not to mention off-the-record compensation that canequal their speaker fees.
This is not to say that these celebrity speakerswere not excellent, and of course entertaining, atour conventions. But were they worth the expensewhen the message they delivered lacked anything aproprietor could take away and implement in his orher business to improve the bottom line?
Let’s put it another way. Attendees pay an all-inclusive registration fee for
Bowl Expo–the opening festivities, the workshopsand seminars, admission to the trade show, the closingbanquet. Suppose instead that attendees werecharged a fee for each item on the agenda. They buya ticket to attend the opening, another ticket foreach workshop or seminar, admission into the tradeshow, and so on. How many proprietors would payextra or separately to see a politician or an entertainer?
The number would at least be somewhatdiminished, I’m sure.
The argument is not limited to the nationalconvention. Virtually every regional BPA doessomething similar at its convention.
I have no problem with the idea of the BPAA or theregional BPAs hiring keynote or motivational speakersfor their conventions. I’m all for it. What I am challengingis the value of these high-profile speakers given theircost to us and the message they deliver, compared tothe benefit of ideas a bowling audience might takehome and apply to their businesses.
In my years in corporate life I have been as guilty asanyone else in hiring speakers, for sales meetings forexample. I will never forget having NASA’s NeilArmstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, delivera message to AMF sales people on the history of thetelescope. The telescope? Did his message motivateanyone in the room to rush out and close a singledeal? I don’t think so.
If a speaker does no more than entertain, thenwe’re talking about an expense where the dollars
T
Paul Lane and Neil Armstrong in mock confrontation at amemorable AMF sales meeting. The subject was telescopes.
�BY PAUL LANE
SARAHWHO?Is bowling really so lucky toget Sarah Palin?
MY FRAME
15IBI March 2010
MY FRAME
could be reallocated to something that is surely moreworthwhile at an industry convention–an added public relationsprogram, marketing or promotion activity for proprietors atcenter level, a generic TV commercial that local BPAs orindividual proprietors could run on a local cable TV channel,a donation to the International Bowling Museum and Hall ofFame. The list is endless.
Or even better, we could make it a point to find keynote ormotivational speakers whose message, we know, will bring someadded value to the proprietor and the industry. They aretypically less expensive, too. These may be speakers whosemessage is sales- or marketing-related, focused on customerservice or facility design and management, food service or proshop management. Again, the list is long.
These speakers can be found both within and outsidebowling, although to be believable, outside speakers shouldcome from other service-related industries such as recreation,entertainment, food service, sporting goods consumer sales,the hotel and airline industries, and so on.
I recall attending a regional BPA meeting many years agowhere the motivational speaker was the manager of a verysuccessful pro shop at a local golf course. He touched base onmyriad aspects of pro shop design, layout, window and shelfdisplays (merchandising), pricing, inventory management,seasonal sales opportunities and the value of offering lessons,all of which had the potential to improve the business formost bowling pro shops.
He was the best, the most memorable keynote speaker Ihave heard in 60 years in the bowling industry. And becauseof his message, as well as his delivery, he was also the mostinspirational keynote speaker I have ever listened to.
Golf has no monopoly on such speakers. There are manypotential keynote or motivational speakers within the bowlingindustry–from the manufacturer, distributor and proprietorranks to bowling writers. Many of these men and women areaccomplished speakers.
The industry has many great resources. We just have to doour homework. ❖
Paul Lane is former Director of Marketing and Marketing Servicesfor AMF Bowling, Inc. He has been the director of 18 AMF WorldCups, an officer in national and international trade associations,and a pro bowler during a career that spans more than 60countries and 50 years.
What’s your take on the Sarah Palin booking? Share yourthoughts at www.BowlingIndustry.com.
16 IBI March 2010
amie Brooks is life lessons from an oldcowhand. A kid who runs to the window firstthing in the morning because he can’t wait tosee the new day. He is 75 years old, looks 55,and has been in the business 54 years.
He married a Peggy. “Peggys are smart,” he says,“they get great men.” He thinks his wife will probablyknock him on the head for saying that, and laughs.
For though he ventures “If I knew what I knowtoday back then, man, I’d run circles around thewhole world,” Brooks is no braggart. He is a happyman in our conversations who has done a lot, learneda lot, started over, and who has an odd reputationfor loving and leaving–bowling centers.
He’s owned “43 or 44.” Somewhere around 40 ofthem he bought from other people. “All dogs. It isthe most fun to go into a place that is not working,it has no business, and fill it up.”
When we had our first talk, Brooks had sevencenters in Texas, where he’s always operated, and inpartnership with Randy Isenberg, who used to be hisstockbroker. He was also helping a friend.
“One of my best friends. He has a bowling centerup here in the metroplex [Dallas/Fort Worth]. Hehasn’t had a manager in it in two years, the machinesgot to running bad, there was no air conditioning,it was dirty, and people were going to leave. I wentin there in April and cleaned it up. We put some new
J
COVER STORY
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17IBI March 2010
COVER STORY
to $45,500. The owner had been running everybody off immediately afterleagues, then closing. Brooks opened it up and inaugurated glow on Fridayand Saturday nights. From midnight to 3 a.m., he was full. He made $1,100.
“The next month, February, he owed me 7. He cried and moaned but Ishowed him how much he had made. He sent me the 7.
“We get into March. March is the best month in the bowling business in Texas,and he owed me 11. You’d have thought I killed him. He tried every which wayto cut that down, but we had it there in black-and-white, so he paid me the 11.
“I could have gotten that thing to 200,000 a month if he would have leftme alone. Let’s take it from the 50,000. I’m getting half of that, so I’m goingto make 25,000 a month and he’s going to make 25,000 a month. That ain’tbad pay to run a 40-lane center. If he’d just left it alone, I could have gottenit to 200.
“So I got a friend of mine and we bought him.”In four months, Brooks had the revenue up to $100,000 a month, which it
regularly exceeded until AMF put in an offer of $1.7 million. Brooks says hewas hurting the other three centers in the area, all owned by AMF. He andhis friend had invested a million. They looked at each other. They would “nothave to work for a while,” so they sold and split the $700,000. Brooks stayedon and drew a salary for a year and a half.
“Sometimes you take the money and run,” he observes. “And I never really
air conditioning in. I got a guy working in thereall the time to get the machines to run better.I’ve got [the center] going the other way now.”
Brooks was doing this as a favor. There isprecedent for that. While he’s never had amentor, he has mentored a half-dozen othermen who became good operators.
Brooks said he would probably wind upbuying the center. There is precedent for that,too, such as Plano Super Bowl, where he washeadquartered in our early talks.
He and Isenberg drove over to have a look-see. “We didn’t have a plan to buy but weended up [doing] it. That’s kind of the waythings have happened. Some of [our centers]were so far down it’s taking us forever and allthe money we can scrape up, but it’s been ahoot, man! We’re saving it, we’re saving it!”
Specifically, Plano was doing $1.9 million theyear before they bought it; $2.6 million intheir first year there, 2007; $4 million in 2008;and was projected above that high water markin 2009.
Brooks talks numbers with the best of them,in person as well as on the balance sheet.The project that was “the most fun doing” wasall about the numbers plus a tightwad fromsouth Texas.
The deal brought Brooks back to bowlingafter he sold everything in 1994 and spent ayear growing bored in retirement. Startingover was “fun,” he says. “It really was.
“Forty-lane place. This guy wouldn’t spendany money on anything. He called me, said ‘Ihave to have some help.’ This thing was flat-lined at $32,000 a month. Every month was likethat. It was doing like 1,000 a day gross.
“I told him, ‘I will run this thing for free. Idon’t want any money until I get it to 40,000.I want 20% of the gross [between] 40,000 [and]50,000. If I get to 50, you’re making 18 morethan you [are now]; I’m going to make 2 out ofthe 18 and you’re going to make 16. I want halfof anything over 50.’ Now, if you’re sittingthere drowning that doesn’t sound like a baddeal, does it?”
Brooks went in on the 15th of January andin two weeks punched the month’s revenue up
Big deal
18 IBI March 2010
COVER STORY
planned to be there. But opportunity knocked. “I think a couple of things like that got me a
reputation as building them up and leaving them.It was never the plan. When I bought that [center],I thought that was going to be it. There’s alwaysthings you can do in one bowling center.”
Reputations can begin in childhood, with therest of the life you make.
A scion of Depression parents who saved theirmoney, Brooks’ wildest escapade was staying outlate. The house had no air conditioning, not a smallmatter in Texas summers, and he was in collegebefore his parents bought a TV. He was shy. Evenso, “some engine in me made me want to succeed,I guess.” The engine wasn’t roaring to life, however.
Thinking geology “kind of neat” and his fatherbeing a geophysicist for Humble Oil, he enrolledfor a geology degree and worked on research forthe oil company. He also drew maps for apaleontologist who was writing a book.
But he hated college, he says. “I just couldn’tstand to sit and listen,” and his father was gettingimpatient with his son’s lack of direction in life.
Brooks had been bowling since high school.Quickly shooting around 550 in the days when a190 average was “pretty good,” he soon movedup to a 200 average. Several years later he wouldtry the PBA when it started, but “I found out thatI needed to be behind the desk–that I could neverreally make a living I wanted to out there trying tobowl with them.” He was good enough to beamong the best bowlers at any of the centershe’s owned, however, which helped him manageleague customers. They looked up to him.
For the present, trying to settle on a directionfor the years ahead, he thought there could be a
future in bowling because of the new machinesthat automatically set the pins.
He “fiddled” with one for about six monthsand learned how to put it together. Then backed
by his father, he opened Lamar Lanes in Houston. The house had 24 lanes,it was 1955, and Brooks junior was 21.
Twenty years later, he was riding high. With an assortment of partners,he owned 22 centers. “Doing really great,” he says of his business in thesalad days.
Under the terms of a loan, Brooks had to submit monthly P&Ls to hisbanker. One day the banker suggested that perhaps Brooks’ operation hadgrown too complicated, as evidenced by the 2-inches-thick P&L report. Heoffered a loan if Brooks wanted to buy out some of his partners and reducethe number of centers.
Brooks did so, winding up with eight and loan payments of $71,000 a month.He says he’ll never forget the number–especially when interest rates climbedfrom 10% to 21%.
A month later, he changed insurance agents to save himself about 10%,“considerable money” on eight centers that included a 72 and a 74.
Three days after that, Hurricane Alicia blew down his center in Galveston,which he had been counting on to cover the minus cash flow at another
property. He paid the mortgage on the hurricane-devastatedGalveston center for eight months before he learned that hisnew insurance company could not make good on his claim.
Next, Texas oil hit a slick patch. “A bad depression. Reallybad.” In just one of his centers in one week, he lost half hisleagues. “They just quit. [The downturn] did that to me in a lotof places, and I really struggled.
“It got to the point where I put [the business] in Chapter 11to try to save it. I did that for about three years, and it kept getting deeperand deeper.”
At one point, he had a final payment to make on eight acres of freewayfrontage in Houston, and the judge took away the property. It was worth
Kid stuff
The luck of the draw
Some were so far down itÊs taking usforever and all the money we canscrape up, but itÊs been a hoot, man!
20 IBI March 2010
COVER STORY
$5- or $6 million, he estimates. The thing to do was cut out.Brooks made the rounds and the deals necessary,
but wanted to retain one center. He called on a friend.“I had loaned money to [him] at one time and put himin business three or four times and he was doinggood. He and my attorney bought one of them for me,and that’s where we started back up.”
Life on the edge in the early ’80s wasn’t fun, Brookssays, but it was never really awful. “Broke is not asgood as having money, and I wasn’t so young then. Iguess I was about 54 or 55. If one of those things [had]happened, I’d have been all right. But when you addthem all together.... I had to pick up and move on.”
Is it a surprise that Brooks says the most importantthing he’s learned in his career is “never give up”?
Well, maybe not. “Maybe the most important thingI learned is it’s really a simple business. It has sixthings and if you do those things just good, you’regoing to do great.” (Keeping the place cool–spelledair conditioning; keeping it clean, making sure themachines run, consistent lane conditions, goodcustomer service, promote.)
That makes it hard for him to understand the“85%” of BPAA members who don’t care. He waspresident of BPAA 1984-86, which he calls “the mostfrustrating two years of great fun I ever had, becauseit’s [BPAA] an immovable object.” The 85% made itso. The other 15% “would do anything to makebowling better [but] that’s not enough to move anational program.”
As to the 85%, “I’ll tell you what happens. Theyprobably did [care] when they had a 95% mortgage.When they got it paid for, they were so beat up, theyhired somebody else to [run the center. Now,] they’renot hungry.”
Brooks, by contrast, may not be famished but he’shad a tapeworm for many years.
“It’s never been about the money,” says a man whoplayed good-stakes poker for 10 years and won,who owned a 36-foot offshore fishing boat, housesin Aspen and Crested Butte, CO, and who hastraveled widely.
It was the fun of chasing the deal and the blast ofgetting into a “messed up” center and fixing it.
He talks about downsizing, and surveys hisoptions. Recently he moved on from Plano and heand Peggy are selling their house. He thinks they’ll
probably settle around Fort Worth, where he’s occupied helping hisfriend at the metroplex center. It’s been saved, says Brooks. Now thejob is to make it more profitable, which he thinks will take him six oreight months.
“We might buy a motor home and go see the U.S.A. I don’t knowhow long that would take to get old. I don’t want to quit. I feel like Istill want to be in the bowling business. I’ve loved it; it’s all I’ve ever done.
“Maybe I’ll go buy one [center]. I don’t want more than one.”Maybe even better, he could move around from center to center and
spend a few months at each, saving them. He’s not sure there’s amarket, though. In the bowling business, “when you’re in trouble,before you realize it you’re out of money and you can’t afford to haveanybody come help you.”
He’s called Ken Mischel, who handles Western U.S. centers forbroker Sandy Hansell. There are always things you can do with one centerin your wallet–
But then, “the most fun times I had were when I went into those bowls,I had no money and I had to make it work.
“I’ll probably be better off if I stay in Texas because I know almostevery [center] and everybody and we all get along pretty good.”
And, you know, “if the right opportunity came by, if somebody is indeep trouble...I might want to do that.” ❖
Our thanks to Main Event Entertainment, Grapevine, TX forassistance with the photography for this story.
Staying cool
PROFILE
22 IBI March 2010
ou expect Wanda Jackson to be a bad-ass. Call up a couple of the 72-year-oldrock legend’s video clips on YouTubeand you’ll notice the growl and the
confidence. This is the First Lady of Rock ’n’Roll–emphasis on ‘first.’
And yet, there’s no doubting the goodness ofthis person. In our interview, she exudes anearthiness that combines with the edgy singing toproduce a beautiful soulfulness. This, you decide,is why she has been able to transcend genderdiscrimination and age prejudice to become theenduring entertainer she is. This is why in handlingreverence from normal fans and celebrity idolizersalike, she is humble.
“Three years ago, in the manager’s office atthe Asbury Lanes, I was getting ready for a showwhen the manager informs me, ‘Bruce wants to sayhello’,” Jackson explains, referring to that Bruce:Asbury Park, New Jersey’s number-one citizen.
“I tell the manager, ‘Sure, and when thePresident gets here, he can come on in, too,” shecontinues with a tickle in her voice.
That’s when the manager ushers in two ofJackson’s biggest devotees, Bruce Springsteenand his wife, Patti Scialfa. They hug and have agood talk, with a shower of accolades comingfrom the Boss.
Later, while Jackson performs, she looks intothe crowd and spots Springsteen. “It was cute tosee him sitting on the ball return,” she remarksabout this fan who has since been interviewed for
Y
The career of
rock music legend
Wanda Jackson
has had more
than its share of
breakthroughs
and bowling.
Here in a recent concert, Jackson was boomed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
by Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen, among others. She was
inducted last year.
The rockin theroad
BY GREGORY KEER
23IBI March 2010
PROFILE
a 2008 documentary on Jackson’s career and been part ofan all-star team of musicians who lobbied for Jackson’s 2009entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the EarlyInfluence category.
Bowling accentuates more of the rockabilly and countryicon’s life than meets the eye of the average music enthusiast.This past year, Jackson headlined a concert celebrating the50th anniversary of 66 Bowl in Oklahoma City.
The center, located on historic Route 66 running fromChicago to Los Angeles, has deep meaning to Jackson. It’swhere the music pioneer, who has lived in Oklahoma most ofher life, took the man she would marry on their first date in 1961.
“In the ’60s, women didn’t do things like call up a man fora date,” Jackson says. But that willingness to cross barriers togo bowling with Wendell Jackson led to a still-thriving marriageof 48 years.
She and Wendell bowled plenty over the decades as they
built a family and careers. Jackson rolled countless frameswith her bands while on tour and still has the red-and-black ballshe did it with. These days, she doesn’t bowl because of a badfoot arch and two knee-replacement surgeries.
Crossing barriers, breaking tradition, and getting long-lasting results are Jackson trademarks. In the 1950s, shebecame the first female to record in the new genre of musicElvis Presley helped popularize. In fact, the King had a littlesomething to do with it.
A professional country singer as a teenager, Jackson had“been touring with Elvis and he convinced me that I shouldrecord rock ’n’ roll,” she says. Elvis saw that most pop musicwas geared to older people while there was a need to sing foryounger folks.
In addition to career advice, Elvis dated Jackson for two years.“We were children when we met [Elvis was 20, Jackson 17],” she
Continued on page 26
PROFILE
26 IBI March 2010
explains. Jackson’s father, who traveled with her duringtours, found Elvis to be a gentleman who didn’t drink orsmoke. The pair was allowed to go to matinees and meals.“When Elvis and I were apart, he’d call every day.”
Professionally, Jackson was “one of the few artists whocould work with Elvis. Country artists were embarrassedto perform with him,” she explains about Elvis’s barrier-breaking singing and dancing style. It worked out that “thegirls would go to the concerts to see Elvis and their dateswould be able to see me,” she laughs.
On her own, Jackson developed a rockabilly soundthat easily matched the distinctiveness of male counterpartssuch as Elvis and Carl Perkins. In 1956, Jackson’s firstrecord was “I Gotta Know.” “It had two lines of country,then rock ’n’ roll,” she explains about the tune. Nextcame “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad,” a classic shecontinues to perform.
However, she could not get much airplay as a rockin’woman. “They hardly accepted Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis,”she recalls. Underappreciated in the States, partly becauseof people’s discomfort with a female singing such free-spirited music, Jackson wrote her own compositions. “Noone was writing songs for girls,” says the woman who hassince become a role model for female rockers. Ironically,she scored a number-one song in Japan with a version of“Fujiyama Mama.”
Her first American hit finally came in 1960 in the formof “Let’s Have a Party.” “I had gone back to countrymusic,” Jackson points out, “when a disc jockey in Iowatold Capitol Records to release the song as a single.”
Jackson continued to seesaw between country androck ’n’ roll in the years that followed. As a country singer,she became a big attraction in Las Vegas, was nominated
for Grammy Awards, and hosted her own syndicated TVshow. In the ’70s, she became a devoted Christian andincorporated gospel into her repertoire.
In 1985, the raven-haired performer underwent aworldwide revival. She went to Sweden, “a country where’50s rock never really died,” to record her first rockabillyalbum in ages. The woman who inspires countless iTunesdownloads of such songs as “Mean, Mean Man” then didfestivals and club performances in Northern Europe.
“I love the smell, the noises,
all the new things they have
at bowling alleys.”
With The King in the 1950s. He encouraged her to sing rockabilly after
they met on tour in ’55.
First recording with Hank Thompson’s band was
followed by 30 C&W hits between ’54 and ’74 and
two Grammy nominations.
Continued from page 23
PROFILE
In 2003, Jackson’s career got another boost. Heralbum Heart Trouble was released, featuring guestperformances by Elvis Costello, the Cramps, andRosie Flores. Then the 2005 Johnny Cash filmbiography Walk the Line had singer Amy LaVereplaying the Queen of Rockabilly in her youth.
Just a few weeks prior to our interview, Jack White(of the White Stripes and the Dead Weather), askedfor the honor of producing a new Jackson record.
“I knew he was one of the new kids on the block,”the rock legend says of White. “He stretched me abit,” she explains of the way he had her cover awide range of material, including songs by Bob Dylan,Amy Winehouse, and Eddie Cochrane.
Today, Jackson reaches an ever-wideningaudience–and it’s not just because she can make herpink Daisy Rock electric guitar wail like a cat on theprowl.
“I have a bigger name now than I ever did,”Jackson says humbly. “Seventy-two isn’t old. Notthese days.” The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice (asthe documentary on her life refers to her) attractsaudiences that run the age gamut “from 80-year-olds down to 18,” says the woman who herself enjoysthe music of Dolly Parton, Brooks & Dunn, and theDixie Chicks.
“I’m impressed with the knowledge my audiencehas of my career. And I hardly ever see anyone drunkat the concerts. They are there to hear me sing.”
In addition to her husband’s managementexpertise, Jackson employs other members of herfamily. “My granddaughters play Daisy Rock guitarsand one sings,” she says proudly. “They’ve evenperformed on stage with me.”
As far as appearing at bowling centers in the future,Jackson quickly responds, “I’ve played two New Year’sEve parties and will do more concerts if they invite me!I love the smell, the noises, all the newthings they have at bowling alleys.”
If she does end up coming to abowling center near you, prepare to berocked by talent and grace. And try toleave the ball returns available for peoplenamed Bruce. ❖
In the conservative world of the ’50s C&W, Jackson pioneered on stage with
sexy tight dresses, fringes and high heels. She designed many of her outfits.
Gregory Keer is an award-winningcolumnist, teacher, screenwriter,and guest expert in nationalmedia. Read more of his work athis online parenting magazine,www.FamilyManOnline.com.
27IBI March 2010
(1) International Bowling Campus offices, the mainentrance. (2) BPAA president Jim Sturm, President-Elect John Snyder, treasurer Tom Martino as the crowdgathered for opening ceremonies. (3) IBC foyer. (4) HenryLewczyk of Strike Ten Entertainment and two men fromArlington: Wes Jurey, president/CEO of the Chamber ofCommerce, and Jay Burress, Convention and VisitorsBureau president/CEO. (5) IBC, entry to BPAA offices. (6)Cathy DeSocio, BPAA secretary; Martino; Pat Ciniello,president/chairman of the International Bowling Museumand Hall of Fame; Sturm; USBC executive director StuUpson. (7) Sturm and Upson on the mezzanine walkway.Beyond them, entry to USBC offices. (8) An expectedguest: past BPAA E.D. John Berglund, flying in fromCaribbean retirement. Saying hello are Snyder, BPAAdirectors Bob Smith, Bart Berger and John Tierney. (9) Onthe second floor, USBC offices. (10, lower right corner)Kegel founder John Davis enjoying a laugh. Back to camerain the orange shirt, Gus Falgien of Kegel. (11) USBC car-rels. (12) An appreciative crowd estimated at 400 at theopening ceremonies. (13) Checking the souvenir pro-gram. (14) Three presidents dust off after burying a timecapsule: Jim Sturm, BPAA; Jeff Bojé, USBC; Pat Ciniello,IBMHF. The capsule will be opened in 2060. (15) The redribbon flies apart and International Bowling Campus isofficially open, Jan. 25, 2010! The cutting crew includedRobert Cluck, Arlington mayor on the left end, and Jureyof the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, on the right. Be-tween them, the three presidents: Bojé, Ciniello andSturm. (16) BPAA E.D. Steve Johnson marking the historicday. (17) Hero Noda, Japanese proprietor and indefatiga-ble photographer of all things bowling, takes aim. (18) Ex-pectant crowd, minutes before the ceremonies begin.
INTERNATIONAL BOWLING CAMPUS
28 IBI March 2010
4
3
2
1
5 6
15
18
14 13
We thought Steve Johnson struck exactly the right note.Said the BPAA executive director the day after the grand opening of the International
Bowling Campus on Jan. 25, “The most exciting part is it’s over. Now we get focused onmembership and business.”
For Johnson, USBC E.D. Stu Upson and their staffs, the day was time out from a courseof ordinary business that has had the two organizations working together at their Arlingtonaddress since the fall.
It was a day for feeling good.It was a day for feeling a little frazzled if you were working on the logistics of the event.
Johnson was in his office at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for TV interviews. Others were busy makinglast arrangements for the opening ceremonies or tours of the campus scheduled later inthe day.
It was a day for being impressed. Everyone was, by the building and by the class, the pro-fessionalism of the festivities.
We also liked Joe Schumacker’s comment to us the day after the opening. Said the BPAApast president, “It’s not the first step or the last step, but it is one step toward our future.”
A most memorable step, we would add.
HISTORYIS MADE
INTERNATIONAL BOWLING CAMPUS
29IBI March 2010
7 8 9
16
17
12 11 10
International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame: (1)Entry. (2) The Hall of Fame. (3) Ancient lanes andBrunswick semi-automatics to match. (4) Remember?(5) The Reichert Learning Center. (6) The pinboy man-nequin speaks–with a little help from technology. Videoprojected onto his face creates uncanny illusion of nat-ural movement in the mouth and facial muscles.
Spare Partz, the museum store: (7) Main entry. (8) Shop-pers got to work as soon as it opened.
International Bowling Training and Research Center: (9)Main entrance and crowd during IBC opening ceremonies.(10) The 20 lanes. (11) Lucky BPAA and USBC leadersrolling the first balls.
INTERNATIONAL BOWLING CAMPUS
30 IBI March 2010
1 2 3
4 7
865
9 10 11
ank Harris arrived at IBC after the outdoor ceremonies were over, but then,he had earned it.
The year and a half that Harris, Brunswick’s vice president forconstruction and design, put into IBC went pretty smoothly. The onlyproblems he remarks were weather-inspired delays and the foundation
for the Training and Research Center. It had to sit on soil with a powder-like consistencythat expands when it gets wet and contracts when it dries out.
Harris remembers the project as one of his happiest.“The excitement of employees coming in and wanting to make sure that their portion
of the facility was updated, not on a wish list [basis] but [from] a professional businesspoint of view. People from the loading dock to accounting to upper management. Therewas a tremendous involvement, [for instance] people working in the warehouse. Theygave their input for what they needed in a loading dock, for automatic doors, shelving,the best traffic flow.”
Harris was brought into the project by Jeff Bojé, whom Harris says he “can almostquote word for word. ‘Hank, I want something that looks very nice, I want it to bepractical, but I don’t want it to be overdone like a law office. I want something nicethe industry can be proud of.’”
Harris hired the architect and all the engineers, reviewed the drawings, dealt with
city officials, obtained constructionbids, oversaw the construction,reviewed monthly paymentrequests, and inspected the job siteregularly. Most of the professionalsand suppliers came fromBrunswick’s Build to Bowl Program.The company donated Harris’sservices.
He personally designed the IBClobby, including the reception desk.
INTERNATIONAL BOWLING CAMPUS
History’s builder
Hank Harris
H
INTERNATIONAL BOWLING CAMPUS
He chose marble and glass as main decorelements but prevented them from turninginto monumentality. Earth-tone decorthroughout the building, short corridors andirregularly shaped rooms (using existing wallsfor the most part), create a friendly feelingthat fits the character of bowling.
In the Training and Research Center,Harris applied the look of an up-to-the-minute family entertainment center. Four ofthe 20 lanes (two by Brunswick, two by AMF)are devoted to USBC research and testing;the other 16 will be used like the lanes in aconventional bowling center.
The week before IBC’s grand opening,Harris was working at the Campus every dayto make sure it opened on time witheverything in place. He labored into the weehours the night before the opening. He slept-in on the morning of the big day and missedthe ceremonies. But then, he had earned it. ❖
INTERNATIONAL BOWLING CAMPUS
34 IBI March 2010
International Bowling CampusRandy Little, on-site construction manager
Office building – 102,000 square feetMerriman and Associates, architectsEric Nelson, Tricon Commercial Building Group, Dallas, construction
Training and Research Center – 24,000 square feetShane LaBeth, Cornerstone Architects, Oklahoma City, architectChris Hicks, Sinclair Group, Tampa, FL, construction
International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame – 16,800 square feetPhil Paramore, Museum Arts, Dallas, architectTricon Commercial Building Group, Dallas, construction
Spare Partz museum storeSandy Stein, Stein LLC, Minneapolis, design
Project cost (est.) $14 million
MINIATURE GOLFLiberty Lanes Family Fun Centerin Cottage Grove, OR has addedan indoor 18-hole ProfessionalMiniature Golf Course withRotating Bowling Pins, Windmill,Lighthouse, Castle and TrafficLight. The miniature golf course was designed and manufac-tured by Mini-Golf, Inc., Jessup, PA, a manufacturer of pre-fab courses for indoor and outdoor use. For more informa-tion, call 570-489-8623 or go to www.minigolfinc.com
CASHLESS OPERATIONLucky Strike’s Power Play concept,Bellevue, WA, is the newest installa-tion of the Embed System to managea cashless operation of more than150 game stations, other attractions,and an extensive redemptioncounter. The installation is highlight-ed by Embed’s Color-Glo Swipers,the industry’s original and leading color-changing, interactivecard readers. For more information, visitwww.embedcard.com.
LIVE SCORINGDigital Signage for Vector®
Scoring by Brunswick allows youto display live scoring through-out your center, using pre-loaded bowling-specific promo-tions, advertisements, graphicsand user-friendly templates. Display waiting lists, price lists,lane assignments and now live scoring statistics simultane-ously. For more information, contact your BrunswickRepresentative or call 800-YES-Bowl or 231-725-4966.
BOWLERENVIRONMENT Enhance your customer’s bowlingexperience with QubicaAMF’sBowler Entertainment System(BES), the only entertainment and scoring system on themarket. With more than 30 environments and games, includ-ing the new Bowlopolis® environment, there is somethingunique to offer each of your market segments. Call 877-QAMF-SLS (726-3757) for a FREE demonstration today, orvisit us on our website at www.qubicaamf.com.
36 IBI March 2010
SHOWCASE
BOWLING PINSSpring Forward Special from DiamondDuramid. Here’s your chance to save abunch of money on pins! $89 per setplus S&H (for SuperGlow white pinsonly). Minimum 20 sets. Limited timeonly–through March 31. Contact us at800-633-9025.
ROOF COATINGA bowling center roof that never chips,cracks or peels; that’s seamless and fullyadhered; stands up to UV, withstandsponding water, rated for severehail–what could be better than a roofcoating by Benchmark Roofing? Cutting-edge epoxy tech-nology that resists grease, fats and acid. 100% tax-deductible, and energy savings up to 40%. For more infor-mation, call 888-431-5352,
CENTER DESIGNDynamic Designs & Associatesis a trailblazer in bowling centersand FECs. We offer interior andexterior design, logo develop-ment, architectural services,business plans, renderings, and more to make your facility astandout. Check out our design for Jupiter Lanes in FebruaryIBI. Your remod or ground-up project deserves DynamicDesigns & Associates. For more information, call 866-644-5892 or visit www.DynamicDesignsInc.net.
CAPITALEQUIPMENTInstantly, your center is amore exciting place to beand have fun when yourequipment is from Switch. Inbowler furniture, hoods,balls, Switch is styled by Italian master designer Pininfarina fora modern, clean look like no other in the industry. Now thiscan be your style, too! For more details, call James Borin at972-679-4824 or email [email protected].
38 IBI March 2010
Ohio convention and trade showHoliday Inn, Perrysburg (Toledo).Pat Marazzi, 937-433-8363 [email protected].
24Illinois State BPA board meetingHoliday Inn & Suites, Bloomington.Bill Duff, 847-982-1305 [email protected].
JUNE1-3Kansas State BPA conferencewith exhibitorsAdams Pointe Conference Center,Blue Springs, MO. Mary Thurber,913-638-1817.
27-July 1Bowl ExpoLas Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas.888-649-5585 or www.bpaa.com.
MARCH17-20B.E.R.–Bowling Event RiminiExpo Centre, Rimini, Italy.www.bowlingeventremini.it.
24-25Bowling Centers Association ofOhio spring seminar and meetingEmbassy Suites, Columbus. PatMarazzi, 937-433-8363 [email protected].
APRIL6Illinois State BPA board meetingMarriott Hotel and ConferenceCenter, Bloomington-Normal.Bill Duff, 847-982-1305 [email protected].
MAY17-19Bowling Centers Association of
DATEBOOK
JULY28Bowling Centers of SouthernCalifornia Annual GolfTournamentBlack Gold Contry Club, YorbaLinda. Victoria Tahmizian, 818-789-0900 or [email protected].
28-31Independent BowlingOrganization Trade Show &Convention, in conjunction withGMBCOAValley Plaza Resort, Midland, MI.Scott, 888-484-2322 orwww.ibo-Show.com.
OCTOBER11-15East Coast Bowling CentersConventionTrump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ.BPAA, 888-649-5586.IBI is the official magazine of ECBCC.
39IBI March 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
AMERICAN-MADE PINSETTER PARTS– HIGHEST QUALITY. Visit us on theweb at www.ebnservices.com or calltoll free (888) 435-6289.
USED BRUNSWICK PARTS, A2 parts andassemblies. Large Inventory.www.usedpinsetterparts.com.
Michael P. Davies (321) 254-7849291 Sandy Run, Melbourne, FL 32940
on the web: bowlingscorer.com email: [email protected]
AS80/90 • BOARD REPAIR • FrameworxSERVICE CALLS WORLDWIDE • PRE-SHIPS • WE SELL
NEW KEYPADS • FRONT DESK LCD MONITORS
40 IBI March 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
Qubica AMF TMS Synthetic LaneSystem (8 lanes) w/ Glow Highwaypattern & Conqueror Scoring System.Contact Mario Valadez [email protected].
NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment.Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-255-6436 or jayhawkbowling.com.
Pinsetter Parts New from ALL majormanufacturers. HUGE IN STOCK inventory.USED Brunswick Scoring parts, AS90cameras, processors, lane cables,monitors, and PC boards. Order online @888SBIBOWL.com or (888) 724-2695.The Mechanics Choice!
AMF scoring packages with orwithout LCDs. (712) 253-8730;www.complete-bowling.com.
AccuScore Plus low boys – 16 laneswith AccuDesk. Will split. (712) 253-8730; www.complete-bowling.com.
AMF package complete: 8 lanes, 82-70s & AccuScore Plus. (641) 414-1542.
24-lane Brunswick A-2 package. Automaticoverhead scoring. Brunswick 2000 returns;wood approaches. In operation through2003 season. Available immediately. Makeoffer. (906) 786-1600. Ask for Denis.
Buy or Sell @www.bowlingyardsale.com; one-stopshopping for bowling equipment — fromlane packages to dust mops!
REPAIR & EXCHANGE. Call for details(248) 375-2751.
818-789-2695SELL IT FAST IN IBISELL IT FAST IN IBI
WWW.BOWLINGDIGITAL.COM
41IBI March 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
CENTERS FOR SALE
UPSTATE NEW YORK: 8-lane center/commercial building built in 1992.Synthetic lanes, new automatic scoring,kitchen and room to expand! Reduced tosell @ $375,000. Call (315) 376-3611.
CENTERS FOR SALE
WESTERN COLORADO: 12-laneBrunswick center with A-2s, wood laneswith synthetic overlay, 11,000 s/f buildingon 1+ acre. Business, equipment & realestate $740,000. Possible owner finance.(970) 625-0680.
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-laneBrunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thruliquor store in small college town. Also, 3apartment buildings with 40 units, goodrental history. Call (701) 330-7757 or(701) 430-1490.
16-lane center in Southern Coloradomountains. Great condition. 18,000s/f building w/ restaurant & lounge.Paved parking 100 + vehicles.Established leagues & tournaments.$950,000 or make offer. Kipp (719) 852-0155.
WISCONSIN: Well-established, 4-lanecenter w/ auto-scoring & up-dated bar.Good condition. $210,000. Possible homefor sale for new owner behind business.Shelley Finnessy, Coldwell Banker Brenizer(715) 829-5230; email:[email protected].
SOUTHERN NEVADA: 8-lane center.Only center in town of 15,000. 30minutes from Las Vegas. AMF 82-70s,newer Twelve Strike scoring. R/E leased.Will consider lease/option with qualifiedperson. REDUCED TO $175,000. CallSteve @ (702) 293-2368; [email protected].
CENTRAL NEW YORK: 12-lane center on2.2 acres w/ attached 3-bedroomapartment. 20 years old in A-1 condition!82-70 equipment. Wood lanes. Originalowner. Call Gary (315) 245-1577.
CENTERS FOR SALE
WWW.BOWLINGDIGITAL.COM
EQUIPMENT WANTED
LANE MACHINES WANTED. We willpurchase your KEGEL-built machine, anyage or condition. Phone (608) 764-1464.
42 IBI March 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
WWW.BOWLINGDIGITAL.COM
CENTRAL WISCONSIN: 12 lanes, autoscoring, Anvilane synthetics, 82-70s. Greatfood sales. Yearly tournament. Attached,large 3 bedroom apartment w/ fireplace.$550K. (715) 223-8230.
SOUTHERN INDIANA (close toIndianapolis): 18-lane Brunswick centerwith lounge, liquor license & movietheater on 4+ acres. Turnkey business.Owner retiring. Great investment! (765) 349-1312.
CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center andrestaurant in central Idaho mountains.Small town. Only center within 60-mileradius. Brunswick A-2 machines;Anvilane lane beds; automatic scoring.(208) 879-4448.
SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-maintained8-lane center, A-2s, full-servicerestaurant. Includes business and realestate. Nice, smaller community. Ownerretiring. $212,000. Leave message (620)397-5828.
WISCONSIN: Exceptional InvestmentOpportunity. Mayville center with full bar& food, pool tables & game room.Apartment & storage area. Fred Kaping,First Weber Group (920) 210-8245.
MINNESOTA: AMF 12-lane center incollege town of Crookston w/ full bar, autoscoring. Totally remodeled 2005. Additionalproperty for expansion. Possible contractfor deed. Call Steve (218) 759-0037.
SE WISCONSIN: 12-lane Brunswickcenter including building, real estate & 7acres. Raised dance floor, grill, pro shop,arcade, tanning room and more.Reasonably priced. Owner retiring.(920) 398-8023.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lanecenter w/ synthetic lanes, 82-70s, 19,000s/f building w/ lots of parking. Newlyremodeled bar & large kitchen. Ownerretiring. (530) 598-2133.
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One ofthe top five places to move! Remodeled 32-lane center. Good numbers. $3.9 gets it all.Fax qualified inquiries to (828) 253-0362.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINS(Resort area): 15,000 s/f, 8-lane state-of-the-art Brunswick center. Includes golfmachine, billiards & two additionalexpansion spaces + historic bar. OWC. ArlieHolland, Coldwell Banker (530) 596-3303.
CENTERS FOR SALE
FAX YOUR ORDER TO US AT:530-432-2933
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43IBI March 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR SALE
BLUE CHIP CENTERS
SANDY HANSELL& ASSOCIATES
28200 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI 48076
(800) 222•9131Check out our current listings at
www.SandyHansell.com
NEW YORK - Mid-State. Largectr in pretty college townw/comfortable life style. Nocompetition for 12 miles. RE incl.
OHIO - Central. Large ctr w/allamenities. Classic turnaround.Priced accordingly. RE incl.
NEW ENGLAND - Attractivelarge ctr in mid-sized community.Only center in town. Uniqueopportunity. RE leased.
WWW.BOWLINGWEBDOCTOR.COM
44 IBI March 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
ForFLORIDA CENTERS
CallDAVID DRISCOLL& ASSOCIATES
1-800-444-BOWLP.O. Box 189
Howey-in-the-Hills, FL 34737AN AFFILIATE OF
SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES
The leading source for real estate loans with low down payments
Ken Paton(503) 645-5630
I would not have secured thisI would not have secured thisgood of a loan without Ken.good of a loan without Ken.
Larry SchmittouLarry SchmittouWestern BowlWestern Bowl
Hoinke TournamentHoinke TournamentCincinnati, OHCincinnati, OH
NE NEVADA: New 2001. 16 lanes, 19,200square feet, 1.68 acres paved, sound &lighting, lounge w/ gaming, arcade, fullservice snack bar & pro shop. Call (775)934-1539.
UPSTATE NEW YORK: State-of-the-art16-lane center with 82-70s in collegetown. 3.5 acres prime commercial. CallBob (585) 243-1760.
WESTERN IOWA. Lucrative, modernfamily entertainment center. Sports bar,restaurant, bowling, pro shop. Karaoke, DJ,live music. Active leagues. No competition.Lincoln Group (319) 352-0132.
PENNSYLVANIA: 20-lane AMF center on6 acres, 1 acre parking lot, full bar, recentlyadded 13,200 s/f outdoor beach bar, sandvolley ball court & entertainment stage.(724) 301-2318.
NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Islandregion. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cosmicbowling, auto scoring. Established leagues+ many improvements. $309,000. Call Jill@ Lori Gervera Real Estate (315) 771-9302.
CENTRAL ILLINOIS: 8-lane centerwith AMF 82-70s, full service restaurant,pro shop. Plus pool tables, Karaokemachine, DJ system. PRICED TO SELL.Includes RE. (217) 351-5152 [email protected].
SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING: 12 lanes+ café & lounge, 2 acres w/ 5 bedroomhome. Full liquor & fireworks licenses.Outside Salt Lake City area. Dennis @Uinta Realty, Inc. (888) 804-4805 [email protected].
GEORGIA: busy 32-lane center, realestate included. Great location in one offastest growing counties in metro Atlanta.5 years new with all the amenities.Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751.
CENTERS FOR SALE
45IBI March 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
INSURANCE SERVICES
BOWLING CENTER INSURANCE.COM.Helping you is what we do best! Property;Liability; Liquor Liability; Workers Comp.Bob Langley (866) 438-3651 x 145;[email protected].
Insuring Bowling Centers for over 30years. Ohio, Illinois & Michigan: Property& Liability, Liquor Liabiity, WorkersCompensation, Health & PersonalInsurance. Call Scott Bennet (248) 408-0200, [email protected]; MarkDantzer CIC (888) 343-2667,[email protected]; or KevinElliott.
SERVICES AVAILABLE
Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring BallRepair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com.
AMF scoring component repair.(712) 253-8730.
KEN’S BOWLING EQUIPMENT – AMFscoring, pin decks, masking units &Brunswick power lifts.(641) 414-1542.
SELLING, BUYING or FINANCING aCenter? RC Partners can help–we are notbrokers. (616) 374-5651; www.sell104.com.
818-789-2695SELL IT FAST IN IBI 2021 Bridge Street
Jessup, PA 18434570-489-8623www.minigolfinc.com
MINIATURE GOLF COURSESIndoor/Outdoor. ImmediateInstallation. $5,900.00 & up.
PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70S.S. & M.P. MACHINES
Save $$ on Chassis & P.C. BoardExchange & Repair!
A reasonable alternative forChassis and P.C. Board Exchanges
MIKE BARRETTCall for Price List
Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576
BUY SELL
AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENTCOMPLETE PACKAGES
WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY
Danny & Daryl TuckerDanny & Daryl TuckerTucker Bowling Equipment Co. Bowling Parts, Inc.609 N.E. 3rd St. P.O. Box 801Tulia, Texas 79088 Tulia, Texas 79088Call (806) 995-4018 Call (806) 995-3635Fax (806) 995-4767 Email - [email protected]
www.bowlingpartsandequipment.com
AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC boardrepair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fastturnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service
5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695)
Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon)E-mail: [email protected]
Visit us on the WEB!http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/
SW WISCONSIN: 10 lanes, newautomatic scoring/sound. Bar/grill. Greatleagues, local tournaments, excellentpinsetters. Supportive community. 2 acresoff main highway. $299,995.(608) 341-9056.
NW KANSAS: 12-lane center, AS-80s,Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game &pool rooms. See pics andinfo @ www.visitcolby.com or contactCharles (785) 443-3477.
TEXAS: 40 lanes with reconditionedpinsetters, new synthetics & upgradedscoring. Building in top shape includingremodeled bar. Good revenue & cash flow.Ken Paton (503) 645-5630.
NE MINNESOTA: Food, Liquor & Bowling.Established 8 lanes between Mpls & Duluthw/ large bar, dining room, banquet area. Twolarge State employment facilities nearby.High six figure gross. 3-bdrm home included.$1.375m. Call Bryan (218) 380-8089.www.majesticpine.com.
CENTERS FOR SALE
MANAGER WANTED
MANAGER/LEAGUE COORDINATOR:Experienced in league development & allfacets of center activity. Email resume to:[email protected].
MANAGEMENT POSITIONS: LargeMidwest chain looking for energetic peoplewho like to smile to join our team. Strongcustomer service background required.Positions available NOW!! Great benefits &compensation. Apply w/ resume to Box501, Fax (818) 789-2812 [email protected].
Chain looking for a manager withexperience in league formation & specialevents in central U.S. area. Respond w/resume to Box 505 @[email protected] or fax(818) 789-2812.
POSITION WANTED
Brunswick “A” mechanic, 12+ yearsexperience, AS-80/AS-90 scoring systemexpertise. Former owner/GM. Willing torelocate. Contact me at (308) 380-8594.
TRAINING COURSE
BRUNSWICK PINSETTER TRAININGCOURSE – Colorado Springs, Colorado.14-day sessions including hotelaccommodations. [email protected];myspace – rmgpinsetter.com;(719) 432-5052 or (719) 671-7167. Fax (866) 353-5010.
(818) 789-2695
Sell YourCenteror Eqpt.Fast!Fast!
WWW.BOWLINGWEBDOCTOR.COM
IBI March 201046
REMEMBER WHEN
1943owell Jackson became one of bowling’s first pros whenBrunswick signed him to bowl exhibitions and demonstrate thecompany’s products in the 1920s and ’30s. He is probablybest remembered, though, as the conceiver and developer of
the lane markings bowlers use to aim their shots. Introduced in the 1930s,markings were sanctioned for ABC competition in 1939.
According to Chuck Pezzano,writing on the occasion ofJackson’s induction into theABC Hall of Fame in 2003,Jackson averaged 205 over alengthy career. That was inyears when stars averagedaround 190.
With that record, you mightnever guess Jackson’s personalinterest in lane markings: hewas legally blind in one eyeand had only 20% vision inthe other.
Industry stats in thismiddle-of-the-war year: ABCmembership, an estimated697,000; WIBC, 252,540;certified houses, 4,335.BPAA records do not revealthe number of membersthat year, but presumablyit was less than 1,235. Thatwas the tally four years later,in 1947, when the yearlycounts began. ❖
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